Only a couple of days into my two-week stay, I received a second degree burn. The mind-numbing pain caused by a hot hair curler originated in my wrist, but seared up my lower arm almost constantly for the rest of the program.  The burn eventually healed, but a poppy-colored scar nearly three inches in diameter still hangs on with no signs of fading. I welcome its presence. I like to think that it’s my souvenir; my treasured piece of the Yale Young Global Scholars program that will accompany me for the rest of my life.

During my time at Yale, I lived and learned with the most incredible people I have ever met. We were absorbed by each other and our diverse backgrounds; each mealtime was spent crammed with conversation about our respective hometowns or even home countries, as well as discussions about global problems that affected us all in very different manners. My 200 cohorts of the International Affairs and Security session opened my eyes in a way previously unimaginable to me, and I am now close to an ever-expanding network of young adults who are just as passionate about discovering the world and their place it in as I am.

The concepts and skills I learned during the program have become an integral part of my identity. I approach problems differently, with a more open and inquisitive mind. I hear other people differently; I listen more and speak less. I learned how to combine the ideas of myself and others, or, sometimes, how to scrap my own ideas and commit myself to another person’s plan. The expansive knowledge I was exposed to not only improved my education, but it improved my ability to educate myself. I have become infinitely more interested in the happenings of the world around me, and am constantly attempting to generate solutions to the issues we face each day. Because of the Young Global Scholars program, I am a better debater, speaker, listener, friend, student, and human being.

Though the program was primarily academic, the friendships I made during my time there will never end, and the memories I made will always be with me. I’ll never forget late nights in the buttery, watching my friends go on a week-long streak of undefeated ping pong battles. “Just tell me one thing,” they’d say jokingly, after winning their 17^th straight matchup, “have we ever lost?” I’ll never forget watching Netflix late at night in the library, or the endless amount of time spent walking to and from the lecture hall. I’ll never forget dinner together with my fellow Midwesterners at Shake Shack after we’d gone far too long without a hamburger. I’ll never forget being forced to seal envelopes during a lunch period after accidentally wandering “out of bounds.” My time at Yale was filled to the brim with laughter and friendship. I wish every day that we could go back.

We studied and worked hard in those two weeks. We survived on three hours of sleep per night and loved every minute of it. We made friends, we laughed and sometimes we got in trouble. I made friends and learned things at Yale Young Global Scholars that will always be a part of me and who I am. I’ve got the scar to prove it.